


I Will Always Be With You

by MingyuY4M



Series: Always with you [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Abuse, Dumbledore Bashing, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Good Draco Malfoy, Good Lucius Malfoy, Good Malfoy Family, Good Narcissa Black Malfoy, Kid Fic, M/M, Parent Severus Snape, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Severitus, Severus Snape Has a Heart, Severus is a good father, he gets better later, really little tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-01-17 08:05:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12361260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MingyuY4M/pseuds/MingyuY4M
Summary: Severus Snape received the visit of Lily Potter in a dream and asked him to take care of his eight-year-old child. Severus accepted, but the world is a much more dangerous place when you are Harry Potter, making the task almost impossible to fulfill.





	1. Dreams

Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts, wasn't fond of his students, they were stupid kids that have almost burnt his class down to ashes more than once, but he liked children, Draco Malfoy, his godson, was one of his favorites, he was so intelligent and active, sometimes even annoyingly so, that Severus always wanted to see him when he had an especially bad day. Draco liked him just because he was "uncle Sev" and didn't judge his dark looks.

Thinking about his godson made him ponder about The-Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, son of his best friend Lily Potter nee Evans and his worst enemy James Potter, Dumbledore had said that the child was in a happy muggle family that treated him like a prince. In some way, the thought of the Potter spawn being spoiled made him assume that the kid was a bully, a spoiled prat, someone that he won't welcome in his class, he would be exactly like his father. But also, Potter being spoiled was always better than the kid being abused, after all, he vowed to protect the child, if the child was safe in the muggle house, wherever that is, he will be at peace with himself.

It was a cold night of December, Severus went to bed after grading some first year's essays, surprisingly they weren't inadequate, some of the students weren't able to pass but there wasn't any Trolls upon the marks, which was very rare, 'I may have a capable group among my first years.' He fell asleep quickly, which was easily achieved with the help of some sleeping potion of his own creation.

The dream in which he was had Lily on it, which is how he knew that it was, indeed, a dream, she got closer and closer, getting away from the dark mass that was the deeps of the scene, his best friend sat down on the love seat, which Severus hadn't noticed before, and gestured for him to sit on the armchair in front of her.

Once he sat down Lily started talking: "Sev… it´s been a very long time… I missed you" Severus wanted to express the same feelings towards her, but she cut him by continuing her speech "I need you Sev… Harry, my son… he needs you, he is alone with Petunia, my little boy is with my vicious sister and his whale husband…" Severus was extremely confused, Dumbledore told him otherwise "But Lily… Dumbledore told me that.." he was cut again but this time by James Potter "Dumbledore… that son of a b…" he saw James taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself "Snape… I know I was a complete idiot towards you but I want to say sorry, it was wrong and I should have known better"

Severus was speechless for the first time in his life, James Potter was apologizing to him, he was angry but somehow, seeing that the man was sorry, and, even if it was after his dead, still wanted to say so, made him reconsider if James was really that bad of a choice for Lily "how did Harry end up in Tuney's house?" Severus spoke after a couple of minutes of silence, during which James sat down next to his wife and took her hand "Albus wanted it like that, why? I cannot tell" Lily sighed deeply "you have to save him Sev please, promise me you will" Severus swallowed some saliva thinking about the promise before accepting the request, then Lily stood up and kissed his cheek. After that sweet gesture, Lily and his husband thanked Severus before marching away into the darkness.

Severus woke up feeling everything and anything, all the information that he believed true had been twisted by a dream, were the facts even real? They had to be, he felt Lily's kiss, he saw them, they were real, he could have sworn it. He had to talk with the headmaster, he needed answers.

He dressed in a hurry, thinking about everything that he needed to corroborate and how to do it, his train of thought took him to wonder if the headmaster would tell him the truth if he asked. By the way, James had reacted when Severus mentioned the Old Man he supposed that he was hardly going to get any truthful answer… but he needed to try nevertheless so he got dress and started walking up the stairs from the dungeon to the headmaster office.

Harry woke up that morning at 6 am, like every morning since he remembered, he felt his body aching, after all, his uncle was rather vicious with his punishment the day before. To be honest, he deserved it, another weird thing had happened the day before, he couldn't explain how the roses had started to open and close in a little dance, it had made him smile until his uncle came… it got worse when he said the forbidden word "magic," but it was magic, or at least it looks like it, why did he uncle keep saying that magic wasn't real if it was happening in front of him?

Anyway, he couldn't change his uncle, it was not like he could just ask some supernatural force for someone that cared to come and pick him up, right? He stood tall, well, as tall as he was, which wasn't much, and got into the kitchen, using a little stool to be able to reach the kitchen and make breakfast. When he failed to make some of the bacon right, leaving it for too long and burning it, his aunt Petunia took his arm and placed an ice on it, leaving it to burn his bare skin, it hurt so badly… but he couldn't cry out loud because it would make everything even worse so he cried silently before going to put on his "going to school shirt" and some shoes.

Once outside, he realized he had to wear a jumper, he tried to go and get it, but his uncle pushed him out of the house, so hard that he lost his balance and ended up on the cold floor. After a couple hours of classes they had recess and Harry was being bullied again, so he ran as much as he could, he hid in a broom closet, he always felt safe on small spaces and closets, Dudley wouldn't bother to get him on those, he barely fitted in one… once he was safe he started thinking about, even though he didn't believe that it was going to help, praying to someone, some kind of fate to send him a person to get him out of the Dursley's house, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to try and prayed for the remaining of the recess hoping it would help.

Severus Snape stepped inside the headmaster's office and sat down on one of the chairs that were laid in front of the grandiose table, he looked at the headmaster with a questioning look while said old man walked towards the chair on the other side of the table, "it is a pleasure to have you here my boy… lemon drop? Tea?" he said as a way to break the ice as well as being polite, Severus, with the same politeness declined the offer deciding to ask the important questions about the child as soon as possible to be able to retrieve him as soon as possible "thank you, headmaster, but I came here to ask you about Harry Potter" Severus could have sworn that the statement definitely had been a shook to the headmaster but the old man was good at hiding his emotions, so he couldn't be sure.

"I was hoping I could check on him since he is Lily's son and I vowed to protect him…" Severus tried to look as good intentioned as possible even if he knew that he was going to take the boy away from that family. "My boy… you don't have to worry at all, Minerva can tell you, Harry is in the best house, living a good life" Dumbledore let slip a piece of information that, Severus assumed, didn't think the black haired man would use, so Minerva will tell him, he was convinced, she cared about Lily and James so she would not mind someone watching over their little child, it was Severus time to speak up "thank you for your reassures headmaster, if you don't mind, I will leave now, I need to prepare some potions" he stood up and made his leave, robes blowing behind him like large black wings.

His next stop was at Professor McGonagall's office, he sat down on another chair in front of a less imposing desk but this time he did accept the tea, the elderly woman was a very dear friend for him and he enjoyed her company very much, he explained the situation to her, including the dream and the conversation with the headmaster, because she trusted her with his secrets and knew that she was concerned about Harry as well. "Severus, I am so happy that you have decided to listen to Lily… the kid lives in the number 4 Privet Drive in Surrey, let me write it down for you" she wrote down the address and gave it to him "I will go now, thank you Minerva" he smiled for about half of a second before living the office and the castle, walking to through the main gates to be able to apparate.


	2. Photo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is taken away from the Dudleys.

A black slim figure was seen at Privet Drive that evening, walking towards a house with the number four at the door. Once in front of the house, Severus Snape knocked and waited for an answer while looking around for any signal that could tell him that the boy was being treated badly, such as drops of blood or things alike, that may not trigger someone's eye if they are not looking thoughtfully, sadly, he couldn't find any, the garden seemed perfectly taken care of, even when it had clearly snowed copiously the day before, so he would need to step inside to confirm his theory, he was hoping that there would be some clues outside, that way he would have only had to pick the child and leave.

The door was answered by Petunia Dudley, nee Evans, who Severus could recognize easily because she was Lily's sister and she hated him almost as much as he hated her. His hatred was easily shown on his face, but when he spoke he sounded much calmer and polite, that way she would not be able to deny his entry to the house, "Good evening, I hope I do not disrupt your household, but I would very much like to come in" Severus said, "I came to check on your sister's son, Harry"

Petunia paled at the sight in front of her and was very vocal about her opinion on her sister's freaky friend coming to her beautiful house "I will not allow someone like you inside my house, you freak, you snatched my sister away from me and make her a freak, you won't do the same with the boy, we are in the process to make him normal!" Severus was very much prepared for this kind of insults but, the fact that these people really thought that magic could be beaten out of someone disgusted him and made him remember about his own father.

When the woman stopped ranting he took his wand of its holster very discreetly and aimed it at her "let me in before I do something" he said and saw how Petunia opened the door fully to let him in "Vernon!" she yelled, hoping that her husband would do something with the freak and kick him out.

The big whale of a man stood up from his armchair and approached the dark and slim man in a violent manner, raising his fist and yelling no sense in which you could barely distinguish some curse words that drew Dursley's attention. Severus, in return, stunned the big man and levitated him back into the living room, of course this spell work on a muggle could be a serious problem if Vernon had not been violent but, as this was not the case, it would count as self-defense to the ministry and his memories would be enough to prove it. He left the man on the floor in the middle of the living room, scaring both, mother and son, who were occupying the sofa.

At this point, Severus Snape looked towards the eight-year-old, who look obese and spoiled, calmly, as he didn't want to scare the boy further, it would not be wise to do so, he needed answers, he asked, "where is Harry?" the boy raised his hand and pointed towards somewhere in the hallway, Severus sighed and walked towards it, then he heard it, an almost soundless thud against the cupboard under the stairs door.

Harry had been listening to the conversation from the very beginning, the man said he had come to check on him, was he going to take him away? What if the place where he is sent to is even worse? Those thoughts hunted him while the conversation was still going, suddenly everything seems calmer and he had to bend a bit further to be able to hear it properly, when he failed to do so he punched the door slightly in frustration, without knowing that this had drawn the attention of the potions master.

Severus breathed shakily trying to calm his rage at the view of a locker on the cupboard's door, Harry was kept there against his will. He opened the little door, he crouched down to see the interior better and found a kid that looked about five or six years old, dressed in oversized clothes that looked dirty and ripped, who was desperate to move as far as possible form the open door.

Lily's son was scared and confined, his best and first friend's son was being abused, he bit his lip, trying to hold back any emotion that may scare the child further, Instead, he offered a little friendly smirk, showing kindness in his eyes, a kindness that many failed to see, and then, after putting on some privacy spells to make sure the abusers didn't hear anything, he spoke "Hello Harry, I am Severus Snape, I was friends with your mum and she has asked me to take you with me to a safer place, your mum and dad loved you very much and they would like you to have a happy life" Severus stopped there, trying to see if the little child was understanding him.

He was going to speak again when he heard a small voice "aunt Petunia said that mum and dad didn't love me and they killed themselves in a car accident…" Harry said, he was confused, he wanted to believe the things that the dark, kind man was saying but he had to be sure, he needed proof of the man's connection to his parents, he didn't have to wait long before he got his reassurance, "Harry, your parents loved you so much… they would do anything for you, she lied to you but I would never do that, look, I bring this with me" Severus pulled a photo of him and Lily together the day they received their letters to Hogwarts, the picture was a magical one so you could see them both smiling and waving their letters.

Harry looked at it while tears started to fall, he noticed it moved and looked up at Severus with a question on his mouth but it was cut up by the explanation "it's magic, I will explain you later" the man said without knowing how much did mean to Harry the fact that someone was going to take the time to explain him something new, at school he was mostly ignored so he didn't have that experience.

"can… can we leave?" those were the words that broke the silence, they were shyly enunciated but it was good enough for Severus who had much more patience with little kids than with his students. Severus nodded slowly and offered his hand to harry who got outside of the little space.

Severus helped him up "take your toys and things that you want to keep, don't worry about clothes we will fix that later" when the kid handed him two broken toys Severus looked confused "this are my toys… can you keep them safe?" the little man spoke, Severus took the two soldiers and put them in one of his pockets before lifting the privacy spells and the stunning spell, then he stood in front of the living room where the abusers were, "we are leaving, but I will be back to make you pay" Severus then took Harry's hand and walked outside.

Once outside he explained briefly how were they going to travel to the kid, explaining how Severus needed to pick him up, which the boy didn't seem to mind at all, and how it would feel like a small tube, also he explained that it was completely fine to feel ill afterwards so the kid didn't feel guilty if he did throw up. When Harry was comfortable in Severus' arms, Severus thought that the kid was too light and clingy he didn't mind the clinginess but the weight concerned quite a bit, he rubbed the little's back before apparating to Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, hopefully, I won't take as long to update next time.  
> I hope you liked it! See you soon.  
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are highly appreciated.


	3. Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Encounter with an old cat

Harry felt like he was being squeezed into a thin tube, it made him think about a vacuum, sucked into a tiny tube without being able to breathe at all. These sensations had been explained to him beforehand by his rescuer, but this fact didn't make it any less scary or predictable in any way, after all, you can explain the feeling but, if you do not have an experience on your own, you cannot fully understand because each person feels different.

Harry knew this, he liked to think that he was smart for his age, even though his relatives seemed to think otherwise, he also thought that his family wasn't smart, at least the ones that he knew, should he really call them family? After all, they didn't do any of the things that a family is supposed to do, he should ask someone older, like the dark man.

Once the constriction stopped he dared to look around finding a large gate with two wild pigs with wings, which Harry thought they looked kind of funny in those big columns, it looked powerful and intimidating but silly at the same time, between the two pigs there was a tall iron gate, with intricated patrons. This also looked to be in the middle of nowhere, but at the very back, you could see the shape of a tower with various lights inside.

They walked towards the castle in a slow pace, mainly because Harry's small legs and inevitable curiosity did slow them down, Severus usually would be exasperated by that behavior, but this time could not make himself to feel that way. Lily's child was utterly adorable, although Severus would never admit that he thought that way.

Suddenly, the small child pointed very shyly towards a grey cat, Severus recognized McGonagall's animagus, but Harry didn´t know anything about her so Severus crouched by the little boy's side and spoke calmly "Harry, do you want to touch the cat?" the little boy looked at him in question before answering "can I? really?" Harry innocent looks in his eyes that had the certain light on them, but you could also see fear, no towards the cat, but toward the adult.

"May I" he corrected gently "and yes, you may" the old cat slowly approached the little child but stopped so Harry could make the last move. Harry looked at Severus for a last-minute confirmation, once the adult nodded, Harry extended his hand slowly and touched the animal slowly and gently.

Severus felt something warm in the pit of his stomach when the small boy smiled, a shy one, but a smile nevertheless "She likes you, shall we keep going? I am sure you will see her again soon" Harry smiled wider but it was stopped by a yawn, he hadn't realized how tired he was, and they were so far away from the castle, he looked at the tall man debating on whether asking Severus to carry him or not. Severus, on the other hand, saw this and smiled slightly "Harry, would you allow me to carry you?"

Harry look at the older man and nodded, amazed by the fact that the adult seemed to have read his mind, he nodded slowly putting his hands up a little, then the tall man picked him up, it was a new sensation for the little child who slowly started to relax in the adult's arms while he started walking towards the castle.

Once near the main door, Severus explained to the little one that here is where they were going to live, he was also talking about the meeting with the headmaster, who he said that was called something like Dumblebloor. Harry wasn't excited about that but he didn't dare to say anything, he just looked up and asked softly "Are you going to be there with me, sir?" Severus' heart broke a little, a child of this age should be confident enough to be in the same room as a teacher or headmaster "I will always be with you little one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it is a small chapter but I thought it was too cute I will upload the next part tomorrow, don't worry.  
> Thanks for reading, kudos and comments are appreciated


	4. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore, castle, paintings, Lucius.

Severus Snape climbed up the stairs with the little one on his hip, it was a rather tender but strange view, like seeing a dragon with his baby dragon in the middle of Gringotts. The child was hidden in the potions master neck, even if the professor tried to awake his curiosity pointing out several objects that would be new for Harry.   
Once they reached the griffin that guarded the headmaster’s entrance, Harry, for the first time looked up, mostly because Severus had said “chocolate frogs” which was the password for the office this month, and, even though Harry hadn’t heard about that particular sweet it did have a word that he knew fairly well “chocolate.” Harry saw a big statue of an animal that he didn’t recognize, it had halves of its body like an eagle and the other part it seemed to be a lion, he shyly pointed towards it while Severus walked up the stairs “it is a Griffin, Harry, I will explain it later” Harry nodded and looked around, more curious now that he knew Severus wasn’t angry at him for looking or asking.   
They got into the headmaster’s office, Harry was still looking around amazed by the greatness of the castle, apparently all Severus had to do to take the shyness away from the boy was saying the word chocolate. Albus looked up from the paper that he was working on, and stood up in shock, it was extremely rare to shock the headmaster, after all, he was a wise, but he had never expected to see Severus Snape with a Potter on his hip.   
The headmaster recovered quickly from his shock and invited the pair to take a seat, after they had seated, Harry on Severus lap, Albus offered them a lemon drop, one of his favorites sweets, and watched with fascination how the little one looked up to Severus as if asking for permission. Severus smiled faintly and nodded, then Harry smiled and took one of the sweets, right after a faint ‘thank you’ was heard, Albus could do nothing but smile to the little boy. “Severus… my boy… that is Harry Potter” he said as a matter of fact, trying to make the other one talk “Yes, he is, headmaster, I found his home to be disagreeable, he cannot be there” Albus was about to protest when Severus cut him by continuing his train of thought “he will stay with me, I made a promise and he is starting to trust me.”  
Albus could see that already, he had noticed how the little child was, but the blood wards were extremely important for the child’s safety. Albus walked around the room thinking on a solution, he could not let Harry go back in there even though it was his original plan, but he needed the wards, then it clicked, there was a ritual which was held by the goblins which allowed the adopted child to become blood-related with the parent. “If you want to keep the child you will have to go through a blood adoption, it is the only way to keep the blood wards, are you aware of this ritual? It is held by the goblins, although you may have to adopt him formally beforehand so I would definitely suggest you go to the Ministry now, or perhaps tomorrow morning”  
Severus listened carefully to all the old man’s ranting and traced a plan, he would show Harry his quarters, his new home, today, put him to sleep, because the little one was already tired even though he was trying really hard to stay awake and quiet, and tomorrow morning he would contact Lucius and ask for advice. “thank you, headmaster, I must do as you said, if you need me I will be at my quarters” Severus said in a calm voice, showing his gratitude towards the man that let him take the little one in, after one last ‘good bye’ Severus took Harry down the corridors towards the dungeons.  
This time Harry seemed more curious about his surroundings and kept looking around shyly, eventually, everything was too much, too much new information, there were TVs in every corner but they didn’t seem to follow any specific script. It didn’t make sense, he thought about asking Severus, so he looked at the adult and then at the nearest TV and asked, “why would you need so many TVs?” which made the adult laugh a bit “Harry, dear, even though I agree on your statement, that is, there is no need for all this… they are paintings, not TVs, but I can understand why you might have thought that they were TVs” at this statement Harry frowned and asked again “they can’t be paintings, Sir… they move… paintings are made to stay still” Severus looked at the child’s face and sighed in amusement, Harry was too precious and intelligent “they have magic, Harry, this castle is full of magic, you” the last word was enunciated while Severus pointed to the child's chest “have magic, you are a wizard, as I am, and Dumbledore is, although Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard I’ve ever known” Severus smiled at the look of wonder of the little child, his forest green eyes were looking at Severus with a fascination and adoration that the adult would have never thought could send his way.   
Soon enough they were in front of a painting of Salazar Slytherin that, upon seeing the young one smiled at Severus “Moonstone” the Potion’s Master whispered and the painting opened reviling a cozy and warm living room. Both, the little one, now walking on his own, and the adult, stepped through towards the couches. Severus was pleased to see the new room added to Harry, it had plain colors but, as was written in a note left by Dumbledore, the elves would change it according to Harry’s preference.  
Suddenly, the fireplace roared, emitting a green flame that made Harry scared for a moment, he looked towards Severus for help, not only the fire turned an unnatural color but a blonde man had appeared out of nowhere. Severus quickly moved towards the fireplace and held out his hand for his friend to shake “Lucius, I didn’t expect you today, come in” he then realized the confusion that was written on the child's face “Harry, this is a very good friend of mine, Lucius Malfoy, he came through the floo, I will explain the method of transportation in detail tomorrow if you want me too.”   
Harry nodded and softly said “good evening Mister Malfoy, it is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Harry Potter” Lucius was taken aback by the formality of the child, not even Draco was as formal, but appreciated anyway and smiled towards him “call me Lucius, there is no need to be as formal, Severus, how come Harry Potter is in your living room?” he said while turning towards the dark man “I was going to explain the situation tomorrow but, summarizing the events, I want to adopt Harry, his previous guardians were less than fit” Lucius caught up the meaning behind the words easily and took a deep breath “it should be easy to get it done, are you going to sign the papers tomorrow?” at Severus’ nod Lucius continued “then I will go with you, to make sure there is not a problem… in other topic, Draco has asked me if he could come by some day, he misses you terribly.”   
The adults were soon planning when Severus’ godson would go to the castle while Harry drifted to sleep slowly, lulled by the men’s gentle and deep voices. He eventually was pressed against Severus side with a protective arm around him, he dreamed about a redhaired woman and a black-haired man that smiled at him proudly and happily, Severus was also there, beside him, Harry felt safe with those people around, it felt like family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not updating sooner, I had a lot of problems with my computer and the university.  
> The updates will be regulars from now on, once a week will be a new chapter.  
> I hope you liked this update, kudos and comments are appreciated.  
> Thank you so much for reading  
> Mingyu~


	5. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malfoys, ritual and changes.

The next morning Harry woke up to the feeling of someone shaking him softly, it was a new experience, no one had ever woken him up that way. He opened his eyes slightly and saw the potions master looking at him with a straight face but tender in his eyes, Harry smiled and whispered, “good morning Sir.”   
Severus picked the little boy up and went to the bathroom with him “take a shower, you have some towels over there and some clothes here, if you need me just call, I will be in the kitchen” he said while pointing at the items that he listed, the clothes were some Severus’ shrunken ones but it worked for the day. Severus let the child take his shower and went to the kitchen to fix some breakfast, the elves usually served the meals but Severus thought that Harry would be upset upon seeing one of the little creatures, just because it was new and the child had had enough new things for a day, taking in account that he was going to meet the goblins today.   
Harry took a quick shower putting on the clothes which fit perfectly and made him look like his soon-to-be guardian, the feeling of the fabric was very nice, like it was new and well-kept, Harry was confused, he didn’t deserve clothes, his relatives always said that he didn’t deserve it… he went to the kitchen to find Severus finishing the breakfast, he sat down on one of the chairs and looked up to Severus “Sir? is this clothing for me? Don’t get me wrong, I love them, it’s just…”   
Severus' heart hurt for the little child, he knew what the child meant, he smiled slightly and put breakfast on the table and sat own “Harry those are yours and we will buy more after we go to the bank, where I will become your father” he stopped there to give some time for the child to process the information “you will be my dad?” upon Severus nod in confirmation Harry smiled brightly before standing up and hugging the adult who hugged him back “let’s finish our breakfast child, we will go to Malfoy Manor and then we will go to the goblins”   
Severus explained Harry what floo was and how it worked while they were having breakfast, Harry even asked some questions about the theory behind it, Severus couldn’t believe that a person of that intelligence was only eight years old. When they finished eating their breakfast they flooed to Malfoy Manor where the pureblood family was waiting for them, “very good morning Severus and Harry” the patriarch of the family shook Severus hand before brushing Harry’s hair softly “this is my son, Draco” Lucius said putting his hand on the other child’s shoulder who looked so much like him “It is a pleasure to meet you Draco, I’m Harry Potter” Harry smiled and shook Draco’s hand when it was offered “it’s a pleasure to meet you too, I hope we can be friends” Draco said with a soft voice, he wanted to have good real friends, like his parents and Severus were.   
Narcissa was introduced to Harry by Lucius, she was a beautiful woman, she had an aristocratic and intimidating look, as if she believed that she was better than anyone but also, she looked like a mother, the way she looked at Harry and fixed the neck of his little shirt made Harry trust her and think of her as a kind woman.  
Once everyone was introduced they flooed to Gringotts, Harry was instantly amazed by the little creatures with mean faces that worked at the place, “they are goblins, really good with money but they aren’t very friendly” Draco whispered to Harry when he noticed his confused look. One of them walked towards Lucius and asked if he needed anything, once Lucius asked for a private place to talk the whole group followed the goblin to an enormous office full of shelves with shiny things on them, Harry was fascinated and so was Draco, both of them had to be led by the adults towards the chairs.  
“Lord and Lady Malfoy, Professor Snape, what can this institution help you with?” Griphook, the goblin, asked politely, he seemed honestly curious, “Mr. Griphok, I know for a fact that your people host a ceremony called ‘blood adoption’ and my friend Professor Snape was wondering if it would be possible to perform this ritual, he wanted to adopt this little boy, Harry Potter” he gestured towards Harry and the goblin looked at him surprised, Severus took his hand and squeezed it slightly, making Harry clam a little even though Griphok’s look was intimidating.  
“It will definitely be possible, it will be prepared while you filled the needed papers for the Ministry” Griphok handled the papers to Severus and then left the place to get the ceremony prepared. Severus asked some questions to Harry while filling the papers, the last question was the most important one “do you want to take my surname?” Severus looked at Harry closely “Can I have both? I would love to have your name but I also want to keep mine… something like Snape-Potter?” Severus smiled slightly and hugged Harry with one arm “Snape-Potter sounds perfect” he wrote it down and signed at the end of the page.  
When the goblin came back he asked the group to follow him, they were led into a dark room with an altar in the middle, Griphok told Harry and Severus to step near the altar, where other goblin started to speak in a strange language, soon they were asked to share seven drops of blood, Severus helped Harry first, he poked the child’s finger with the blade before doing it on his own. The goblin mixed it with a special potion and gave three quarters to Severus and a quarter to Harry because Severus was taking the responsibility over the child while the child was only going to take some of Severus’ features, the changes would appear from the first half an hour to twenty-four hours after the ceremony or so the goblin said, it was something that Harry was looking forward to. The ritual ended soon after, it was rather simple unlike wizarding rituals which were extremely complicated, the goblins rituals were simple but needed a lot of magic and power.   
The group went to have lunch at Malfoy Manor after thanking the goblins, while they were eating Harry and Draco talked about the things that they saw that day, occasionally asking for an explanation which Narcissa was more than happy to answer, while the adults talked about changes in Severus life and how he was going to manage to teach while taking care of Harry, after all, school would start again after the Christmas break which started today. They concluded that he always could ask for help within the castle, Minerva was the first name to come up, she loved Harry, Hagrid was also a good option after all the half-giant had a huge mother hen and couldn’t hurt a fly.  
“Sir? I was wondering… can… can I call you dad?” Harry said while looking down, Severus gently moved his head so he could look into his eyes, then he noticed, Harry’s eyes, were changing, one of them was obviously turning black, it was amazing how only one of them was changing “I am your father now Harry, of course you can call me dad” he kissed Harry’s forehead “your eyes are changing, one of them is turning black like mine” everyone turned to see the change while Severus conjured a mirror for Harry to see himself into “cool…” the child breathed out “it is really pretty” Draco said smiling “I can’t wait to see how I look after the twenty-four hours” Harry said excitedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's being a long time, I hope it was worth it to wait.  
> I hope you liked this chapter!  
> if you want to know about updates not only in this fanfic but in others that I am planning to start, add me on Snapchat: alexy4m


	6. Rights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shopping.

After lunch, the Malfoy family left since they had to assist an important event, something related to Lucius' business in France, so the now Snape family was alone walking down the streets of Diagon Ally. It was a rather pleasant afternoon, not too cloudy even though it was December, it wasn't snowing either but the streets were white because of previous snow storms, you could say that Christmas was right around the corner, all the shops were decorated with colorful lights and extravagant ornaments, the children ran around the place trying to make their parents buy them that one toy they wanted

Severus, on the other hand, was walking down the street with a quiet polite little boy who looked around in wonder but never asked for anything, this behavior worried Severus, he was expecting something different, maybe not as exuberant as the other children but definitely something, he looked towards Harry who was trying to figure out what everything was and softly said "Harry, we need to go find you some clothes, then we can go to the toy store" he, Severus Snape, was offering volunteer to go to a toy store, but Harry deserved it, he deserved some toys, it was a basic human right, children have the right to play.

Harry, on the other hand, didn't want to hope for a trip to the toy store, it had happened before, Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia would say that he could get a toy if he behaved but, even if he didn't do anything he wouldn't get it because he was a freak, but his new dad seemed honest, he would be the best boy that way he would be able to get at least a little plushie. Harry nodded and followed Severus towards the entrance of muggle London, where they would shop first.

The first shop was in a big mall so Severus made sure that Harry was by his side all the time taking his hand just in case, Severus tended to rush with everything and that usually ended up with people not following, he didn't want to lose the child, even though said child was already eight, he didn't seem to mind. Severus held various t-shirts in front of the child, mostly plain ones, for the one with designs Severus would let Harry pick out his favorites, the main color was, of course, green, like his eyes, the child pointed out that he liked blue, not any blue, Ravenclaw blue, even if the child didn't know just yet what that meant. At the end, he had purchased plain t-shirts sporting the four main Hogwarts colors, a couple white dress shirts and four pairs of jeans, all the way Harry seemed completely overwhelmed by all the things that Severus was buying and didn't ask for anything at all.

Harry followed Severus holding his hand tightly, everything was a first, even the holding hand part, it was a normal gesture from a parent to a child and at Harry's age would be something to be embarrassed about, but he could not be happier, the gesture only reinforced the idea that Severus, his father now, wanted him. When they walked out of the store Severus stopped him and looked at him crouching down to seem less intimidating, Harry really appreciated this, "We are going to this other clothes store before we go to the toy store, be patience I know this might not be entertaining but it is necessary" Harry just nodded at this even though he thought to buy all these clothes was really fun and unnecessary "In this store there is more colorful and variate clothing so I want you to pick two t-shirts and one pair of jeans, you will need also a pair of sport shoes, alright my son?"

Harry nodded happily, his dad just called him "his son" and he said it with affection and not in a sarcastic way, not like the Dursleys, who a couple of times before had pretended to care just to mock him. Harry started walking through the stands, still holding Severus hand tightly, he didn't want to lose his dad, suddenly a black t-shirt with a dark red dragon on the front caught his attention, he loved animals and dragons were fascinating, a book that he read for school said that dragons were mythical creatures, some had wings, others didn't… and they could control elements.

Severus noticed how the child staid looking at the t-shirt in thought so Severus reached to the stack of shirts and looked for the right size, admiring the hope that radiated from his son's eyes "here, this is your size, it is a little bit big but you will grow to fit it properly" the adult handed the shirt to his son who smiled and pressed it tightly to his chest "now, one more shirt, then we will go get jeans."

Harry look through some more finding a white shirt with a dark green and yellow snake, this time Harry asked for it instead of thinking too much if he could or could not have it "I like snakes… well I like reptiles in general" he had some trouble with the pronunciation of "reptiles" and Severus thought it was adorable, "Slytherin at its finest" commented Severus while picking the right size "I will tell you about Hogwarts houses when we get there, don't worry" Harry nodded and walked towards the jeans to repeat the process and pick some up, they ended up buying two instead of one because Harry seemed to have trouble deciding which one he wanted, then they picked the last item, some white trainers, paid and head outside.

"Let's go to the toy store now, we will go to Madam Malkins on another date" Severus said while leading Harry towards the colorful store, while Severus did not like the idea of going into a toy store, the look of pure excitement on Harry's face was more than enough argument to adventure himself in such a place. Once on the store, Severus crouched down in front of Harry to be at the same level "Alright child, we are going to go to a magical toy store but I know you may want some familiar toys too so, anything at all that catches your attention tell me, understood?" Severus wasn't expecting to have his arms full of Harry at the end of the sentence, but hugged him back nevertheless "come on Harry, where do you want to start?"

Harry looked around thinking for a moment, it felt weird, he had so many options, he could go anywhere, it felt a bit scary but Severus' hand on his shoulder made it better. He started walking toward the plushies and found a fluffy light pink rabbit, he didn't want to point it out at first because pink is a girl's color, but Severus seemed to read his mind and picked it up "he looks like a good friend Harry" the child smiled at this and squeezed his new friend "his name is Dante" Harry said holding it for Severus to see "really good name my son" Harry had heard the name to a couple of older girls on his school and always seemed like a great name.

After that Harry was more confident at pointing out what he wanted, he still hesitated a bit a couple of times but Dante was the proof that Harry needed to trust that Severus was, indeed, buying him toys. They got an animal set, a couple more plushies, and a remote-control car, everything was exciting but the other children never stopped screaming and running around, even if it looked fun, their behavior was not the best and it made Harry get a headache. Once outside of the mall Severus held out his arm for him to reach, they were going to apparate back to Hogwarts where Severus believed necessary to hold a little "family meeting" in which Severus would explain basic human rights and explaining to the little one the Houses at Hogwarts.

Immediately after they got into their quarters, Severus started to put the clothes on Harry's wardrobe while the child arranged his toys very carefully and thoughtfully "these are so many toys…" Severus heard his son mumbled, he sighed and sat down beside him on the floor "Harry… my son… you deserve them… it is your right as a child and I am sorry that you didn't have them before" Harry looked confused, he didn't know what "right" meant but he had heard it before, his uncle use to say it a lot "Uncle Vernon says that freaks don't have rights…" he said while looking down, ashamed of his past.

Severus sighed and hugged the little boy, Petunia and Vernon where monsters and did not deserve anything, hopefully someday he will actually get revenge, for now, though he had to fix his best friend's, and James Potter, son "Harry, even though the world is an unfair place to be we all have rights, they are called human rights and as long as you are a human you have rights which are basically certain freedoms that are guaranteed" Harry nodded slowly, taking in all the information and trying to figure out what it meant for him "also, being a 'freak', which you are not, isn't bad… it just means… unusual, eccentric, rare, and believe me, when you get to adulthood we all want to be different" Severus laughed a little when Harry wrinkled his nose at the word "adulthood."

Harry then rested his head on his dad's shoulder, he was tired and his dad was telling him all these things that flipped his world upside down "Dad? Do I look any different?" Severus looked down and took his son's chin "your cheekbones are a little sharper… I think your face is getting a bit longer in general, not a big deal but if you look at it you can definitely see it… and your hair is getting darker… I think it will end up being black, instead of the dark brown that was James' hair, you kept the crazy curls… and I like them…" Severus smiled widely "your parents, James and Lily, were good-looking people, especially Lily… so it is not a surprise how handsome you are" he kissed Harry's forehead "tomorrow we will redecorate this plain room and go visit some of the staff here at Hogwarts… so go get your pajamas and brush your teeth, I can tell you are tired, if you do it fast we can read something in bed" Harry listened to his dad carefully before sprinting towards the bathroom to get ready.

Once both where ready Harry got under the covers Severus sat down next to him "so, what do you want me to tell you about?" Harry thought for a moment before saying "Hogwarts" in an excited voice, Severus smiled and started telling him about the founders of the school and how it was built, the child fell asleep soon after Severus started talking but the adult stayed to watch over him for a bit, just to breath calmly and get the idea of actually having this child with him to settle. After a couple of minutes, Severus stood up, took the camera that Lily had given to him a long time ago and took a picture of Harry sleeping, the first one of many others, then he went to bed, happy for the first time in many years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you liked this chapter, if you did please leave a comment and kudos, they make my day.  
> Also, I was wondering if you would like me to start new fanfics, I have a couple of ideas but I don't know if you would like to read them (they are Harry Potter related and some aren't.


	7. Paint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Painting, Wolf, and Doctors, not necessarily in that order

Severus woke up early in the morning, he was tired but also weirdly excited, he thought that it may have something to do with being officially the father of a little brilliant boy who was sleeping on the other room, he let himself smile before standing up to cook some breakfast. Today was going to be a busy one, they needed to meet with Dumbledore, just to tell him about the adoption and how everything went, he also wanted to introduce Madame Pomphrey and Hagrid to Harry, he knew that the half-giant was going to be really happy to see the little one, after all he had been counting down the years for Harry to attend Hogwarts.

Once the breakfast was ready he went to wake up the little boy. It was incredible how his life and his hopes for a future had changed in such a little time before Harry irrupted in his life his only motivation to get by the day was to wait until his death doing productive things...

Harry woke up the same way as the day before, with his dad shaking him awake gently, at first, he flinched slightly, the habits that eight years of being treated badly had built in Harry weren’t going to leave in a day, but right after he realized that his dad was the one waking him up he smiled and sat up. “good morning dad…” he said while he started to stretch, Severus led Harry to the bathroom like he had done the day before, with a small but genuine smile on his face.

After breakfast and all the routinely affairs were dealt with they walked outside, adventuring the castle, they climbed the eternal staircase from the dungeons, where their quarters were, to Dumbledore’s office, where the old Headmaster was already waiting for them. “Very good morning, my boys” Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly voice when they entered his office, “good morning headmaster”

The first thing that Dumbledore noticed about the little child was his eyes, proving to him how serious was Severus about kipping the child “oh… I see you performed the ritual, you look like the perfect blend of all of your parents Harry, my boy” Harry smiled shyly towards the grandfather figure of Hogwarts “thank you Sir” he mumbled before hiding slightly behind his father’s robes.

“We just came here to let you know that the ritual was a success Headmaster, and also to ask you if Hagrid and Madam Pomphrey are available” Severus said in an unthreatening manner, which was unnormal for him “Madam Pomphrey had to leave for the morning, there was a problem in St. Mungos that needed to be addressed, they called most of the mediwitches and mediwizards on England, she should be back by lunchtime, Hagrid on the other hand is with Remus on his hut, they are trying to combine Christmas and Yule, to make the entire affair easy for the muggle-borns…”

Severus was startled for a second, his nightmare was back in the castle, and near his son, he would not expose his son to that beast, how is that the Headmaster is letting him near the castle? Oh, yes, Gryffindor favoritism… Severus snapped back to reality when his son touched his hand lightly “dad… are you ok?” he heard his son ask “yes… I am fine… I just… didn’t expect Lupin to be around…” he mumbled to himself more than to the little boy “Severus… my boy, you should talk to him, I know I was not fair, or it seemed like I wasn’t… but believe me, he is sorry” 

Severus swallowed the bump on his throat in order to try and not be too rude towards Dumbledore, he knew that the Headmaster was right, he always was… well, most of the time, and Lupin probably was sorry, but Severus was not ready to see the man that holds the beat that almost killed him inside him. “I will think about it… we will be in our quarters until Lupin is out of the castle…” he said trying to appear calmed ‘or until I am ready to talk to him’ was implied, after all he would not take Christmas away from his son.

Severus and Harry walked back to the dungeon, once they were inside their rooms Severus relaxed considerably and smiled slightly towards the little boy “let’s decorate your bedroom before lunch, then we can go outside and visit Madam Pomphrey” Harry nodded and followed his dad towards the newly added bedroom thinking that he would need to ask about said ‘Lupin’ later at lunch.

The child’s bedroom consisted on a queen size bed, a little wooden desk with a matching wooden chair, an old closet that was slightly darker wood color and a couple of shelves where Harry had already arranged his toys “so, my son, what color would you like your room to be?” Severus asked while crouching down to Harry’s size so he would not look intimidating “you can pick any color or pattern”

Harry thought for a moment if he could paint the walls any color he would paint them blue, but he also liked green, and red, and yellow, because they were the color of nature and freedom and they, were pretty “can I have a Hogwarts themed room? Like… there!” He said pointing at the wall across from the door where the bed was resting his headboard “I would like to have green, like the snake house… Slee…Slytherin!” Severus smiled widely and with a whispered “Colovaria” he changed the color of the first wall, adding some snakes into it. Then Harry pointed to the wall on the right, were the windows towards the lake were situated “Raven…claw?” he said unsure at the name receiving a smile and a nod from his dad who charmed the wall accordingly, they went on with Gryffindor, in front of the bed, and Hufflepuff, which held the shelves with the toys, it fitted perfectly.

Harry nodded along and at the end, he stood up from his seat and hugged the man who immediately picked him up “there is nothing to fear dad… I will be there with you” Severus heart warmed and smiled at the beautiful child on his hands, he was so lucky to have him “you are right my son, and you do not have anything to fear either, I will always be with you to protect you and guide you” he kissed his son’s forehead and cuddled him close.

Once they had finished eating Severus picked the little boy up and started their journey towards the hospital wing where Madam Pomphrey, already told about the situation by Dumbledore, was waiting for them to check on the child. Severus sat the boy, who was now shaking out of fear, on one of the little mattress “d-dad…” Severus squished his hand lovingly “everything will be fine my son, Poppy is a friend of mine and I will be here.”

Madam Pomphrey introduced herself to the little boy who looked at her warily, normal behavior of a child towards a doctor, once the scanner was completed, achieved by demonstrating every single one of the charms in Dante the rabbit that Severus remembered to pick up before living, knowing that, even if Harry was too old for that kind of comfort, after the abuse, he would need some reassurance that often worked on younger children, the scanner showed how the main physical abuse involved burns and starvation which were easily cured with some cream and a proper diet.

Even though the physical abuse was not too harsh, counting on any kind of physical or psychological abuse is harsh and completely unacceptable, the psychological abuse was the worst part, Severus would have to reassure the child about many things that a normal child make take for granted. Overall, the visit to the Hospital wing was a success, Harry had not been sexually abused which was enormous relieve for Severus, but he also had a diet plan and a potion plan for the little one to grow healthy.

They were living in the Hospital wing, Harry eating a little sugar quill and talking softly with Dante while his dad took him back to the dungeons, when Severus saw the wolf, he tried to stay as calm as possible when he started to approach “Severus, we need to talk· Lupin said, looking at Harry softly and sadly, Severus, on the other hand, was trying to find a way to politely decline the offer so they could get back to the safety of their quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!! It's been so long!! I had too many things going on so I could not actually write... BUT I am back!!  
> I really hope you liked this chapter! if you did leave kudos, they are highly appreciated and also, comment what do you think about Severus and Remus relationship, what do you think is gonna happen between them in the next chapter?  
> Thank you so much for reading   
> ~Alex~


	8. Dog

Severus looked at the child who was shyly trying to bury himself on his chest "Lupin… is not the best moment… we will talk… just not now" Severus was terrified, but he understood the sense of responsibility that the wolf felt towards his son, he was not the only one to lose someone during that terrible day.

"I will contact you when we are ready" he nodded briefly at his own statement, Lupin had this understanding look on his eyes "is Harry ok?" the wolf asked as if it was the most important matter in the world "he could be better but yes, he will be fine" after that they headed to Hagrid's hut, after all the wolf seemed to have finished and the half-giant would cheer even the darkest days.

Father and son walked down the path during which Harry shyly declared that he wanted to walk by himself, like the first time they walked through the gardens in Hogwarts, Severus smiled at the boy and let him explore, well, all the exploring that looking around while tightly holding Severus' hand would let him, not because Severus didn't let him go by himself, but because Harry was too insecure to not be holding Severus all the time.

Once they were in front of the small house Severus knocked twice on the heavy wooden door and Hagrid was heard inside, they waited for a couple of seconds before the door was opened "Professor Snape! So good to see yah, I thought yah were Remus" Hagrid said without noticing the little boy that was now hiding behind his father.

"I just wanted to introduce you to someone very special" he said gently pushing Harry in front of him "Harry, may I introduce you to Hogwarts ground keeper Hagrid, he looks really big but he is the most loving person in this castle" Harry tried to be brave and, without taking his hands out of his father and his bunny Dante said a small "nice to meet you." Hagrid looked like he was about to cry, he had been waiting for little Harry to come to Hogwarts from the day he left him at his aunt's care "it's very nice to meet yah too 'arry, please, come in, I'll prepare tea" Severus smiled down to his boy, squishing his hand in an encoring gesture.

They sat at the table with warm tea in front of them "not that I'm gonna complain, but how's little 'arry 'ere?" Hagrid asked while petting Fang who may have smelled Harry's wariness because he hadn't done anything that could have potentially scare the little boy. "I adopted Harry yesterday, I went to the Dursley residence yesterday to see for myself if Harry was treated well, once it was obvious that the Dursley are not suitable guardians, I took him" Severus explained leaving out the dreams of Lily and James.

Hagrid smiled sadly, hearing that such a sweet boy was in a bad household was saddening but he recovered quickly, 'Severus Snape with a child, well, that will be interesting' he thought while trying to understand why everyone thought about Severus as an evil man, he has committed mistakes but the fact that Harry could trust him made all of the difference in Hagrid's book, not that he thought that he was a bad person from the start, he knew Severus, the real Severus.

They spent quite some time on Hagrid's hut having a nice daily conversation while Harry got used to fang and started to pet him slowly, the big dog let him take his time and when he felt the child calmed enough he licked his face playfully, Harry froze for a second before he started to laugh hysterically. The adults stopped talking to watch the little boy play with the huge dog, after a while, the little one got tired and ran back to his dad's arms.

"It was a pleasure Hagrid, we will come back soon," Severus said while picking Harry up "yea, of course, come right in whenever yah want" little Harry waved goodbye to the half-giant and his dog sleepily.

Once back at their quarters Severus needed to have a small talk with his son about a certain wolf that walked around Hogwarts, he sat the little boy in the sofa and sat on the armchair to its right, he needed to keep his emotions on check, so he wouldn't worry his little one.

"Harry… Mr. Lupin would like to meet you" he saw his son's worried face "you have nothing to fear little one, neither for my sake nor yours, Remus Lupin was your parent friend and I don't want you to miss on a gentle figure to look up to because of my fears, which I am sure will fade away as soon as I am able to talk to Mr. Lupin about the incident" by the end of his speech Harry had climbed out of the sofa and gotten with him in the armchair breaking the serious atmosphere. "You are not leaving me, right dad? If I go with Mr. Lupin, right?" Severus hugged his little boy "of course not brat, you are stuck with me forever" Severus smiled slightly and kissed the boys forehead "then I will talk with him… can I sleep now, dad?" Severus nodded and carried his little one to his bed for a nap, after all, it had been a long day.

While Harry slept Severus floo called the wolf, maybe welcoming him to his home the very first time they properly talked wasn't a good idea, but he needed to get over his traumas as soon as possible so his son could enjoy the presence of the other man.

Once Remus was in the room he sat on the armchair opposite to Severus' "I really appreciate what you are doing Severus, I understand that is hard to invite someone like me into your house, especially after what I did to you… I am sorry for that day, and let me tell you I didn't know that Sirius had talked to you… he wasn't supposed to tell anyone… I am not trying to-."

Severus cut Remus rumbling with a gentle hand gesture "I… it's fine… really, and about not accepting people 'like you' into my house… you are not like Fenrir, you know that, right? If you are here is because I trust you enough to be near my son, Lily trusted you to do so, and Dumbledore does too… so may as well do so too" Severus took a deep breath trying to calm the panic inside him before talking again "Harry wants to talk to you and I want you to be there for him, tell him about James because my memories of him are not the best… I was not in a good place when I started Hogwarts and every memory of that time, except for Lily, is long buried in my mind…" he didn't want to get into too much detail, just enough so Remus would understand.

Remus was about to cry, Severus was letting him have time with the only person left for him, even about what he had done to the man, he had been years without any news from Harry, nothing at all, it was hard sometimes. "you said he was ok… what happened to him, Severus?" he asked not lifting his head "the psychological abuse is the worst of it… it's the hardest to overcome and heal… but he is a strong kid… he will be fine, he needs us, but he will be fine" Severus seemed to be reassuring himself more than reassuring his guest, in another gesture of trust he stood up and went to the kitchen, showing Remus how willing was to let him slither into his life slowly, once he came back he poured the tea and handled one to Remus, noticing that he had way more scars that when they were children "are you drinking wolfbane?" at Remus' shake of the head he nodded, he didn't need to ask why, the wolf's clothes and his skinny figure talked by themselves "I will start brewing the potion, don't worry, you'll not have painful transformations anymore" the broke Remus completely, he started crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I was moving out of the country so I didn't have much time at all, but I am finally settled in, Hope you liked this chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus middle ground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: First of all, I am so sorry for not updating this fic for three months but it has been wild. On another note, this chapter is rather short because I want to change the rhythm within the fanfic, meaning the action will happen faster, also this will probably lead to longer chapters instead of a scene per chapter. With nothing else to say, Enjoy!

Severus didn't know what to do with the crying wolf, he was not good with emotions, not his own nor others, so he sat there trying his best to give the man some space. "Thank you, Severus, it really means a lot…" Remus said once he had calmed himself enough "Remus, there is no need to thank me, we are the only ones left for Harry and I know this won't be easy at first but I want him to have as many people as possible around to support him… it won't be easy because you and I have history… but I am willing to get to know you as the person that you are now and get over our past."

Remus nodded along before chuckling "I am really not that deep… but you are right, we are the ones left, we need each other…" he sighed at the thought of his friends, dead or alive they weren't coming back. "Another important thing to mention is that I am friends with Lucius Malfoy, therefore Harry is already warming up to his son, Draco, I know that you do not like the Malfoys, but they are dear friends of mine."

Remus took a moment to process the way his world needed to change, he was about to complain but thought better, he somehow trusted Severus and if the potions master thought that the Malfoy family was trustworthy, then he will need to start thinking about them in a more trusting way.

Harry woke up in his bed, he hugged his fluffy rabbit friend, Dante, and got up, entering the bathroom before going to the living room where his dad's deep voice could be heard. He pushed his bedroom door open to find the tall man that his dad called Mr. Lupin talking to his dad who turned around to greet him.

"Hello, little one, did you have a nice rest?" Severus said and picked up his son who nodded in response "Remus and I was talking about the Malfoys" Severus noticed how Harry's attention was caught up by mentioning his new friend's family.

"Are they coming?" Harry asked shyly, he really wanted to see his friend again, Draco was fun. Severus smiled and looked up toward the wolf, he didn't need more proof about Harry's opinion towards the Malfoy family. "We can ask them if they want to come, but I was talking to Remus about them because he doesn't know them quite well, so he is feeling uneasy about them" Severus could have said it in a more complicated and expressive way but the little boy, while intelligent, he is still eight years old, he can't be bothered nor he can understand the complications of adults relationships.

"You don't need to feel uneasy about them Remus, they are great people," Harry said in a brave move, he wouldn't ever talk to a stranger, or anyone for that matter, but he needed to defend his very first and best friend.

Remus had mixed feelings, for once, he loved to talk to Harry and hearing defending someone that is dear to him made him proud, after all, it showed the good heart that Harry possess, but, on the other hand, he felt his heart ache, "Remus" is not the way that he wanted Harry to address him, is cold and distant but he is sure that someday Harry will be comfortable enough to call him Moony like the Marauders always fantasied while Lily was pregnant.

"I'll leave now, we will, hopefully, see each other soon," Remus said while standing to leave. "Have a nice evening, we will definitely see you soon… Remus" Severus answered politely, and Harry waved him goodbye, the next second Remus was gone.

Severus put Harry down on the sofa and summoned Harry's new animal set, so he could play around while Severus worked for a while and thought about his little one's education, a topic that only came to his mind after thinking about doing his own work. His first thought was to find a school nearby, but, obviously, that thought was quick, near Hogwarts there was not muggle or wizard elementary school. So, homeschooling was the best option, at first he thought about teaching Harry himself but his schedule, he wouldn't be able to spend any quality time with Harry, the ideal would be for Harry and him to have classes at the same time, suddenly an idea came to his mind, Remus wants to spend time with Harry and he is a very educated individual, Severus would also show trust if he offered him the opportunity.

After an hour of work he wrote a letter to Remus explaining the situation and then looked up to see Harry playing with his animals, making up little stories like he has been doing the entire hour, he listened closely to the little mumbles of conversation before Harry looked up to him, probably because he felt like someone was watching him, and smiled "Dante is hungry… can we have dinner?" Severus smiled slightly "is Harry hungry too?" after Harry nodded, he picked him up, and carried the child and rabbit to the kitchen where he ordered dinner from the house-elves. He could definitely get used to this lifestyle.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you for reading, next chapter will be up in this week (so you won't have to wait for too long)  
> Please, tell me in the comments if you liked this chapter and what do you expect to happen, also Kudos are appreciated.


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